The present invention relates generally to the field of physical systems and networks, and to displays for representing such systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a technique for scaling and viewing reconstructed representations of a system or physical implementation of a set of objects.
Various physical systems are configured and built in accordance with reconstructed representations viewable on computer monitors and the like. Displays of systems, diagrams, physical views, and so forth are typically provided on computer monitors in windows or viewing areas which may be resized by setting scaling factors or by dragging sizing tools, such as with a mouse or similar input device Where proportionate sizing is desired, certain applications allow for resizing of vertical and horizontal dimensions uniformly to maintain proportions in those directions. Such resizing does, however, alter the level of detail visible in the display, making relatively small features difficult to view.
In applications where less than a complete view of a system or image can be had in a window, it is common to provide a scroll bar or similar virtual tool to permit a user to displace the virtual image within the viewing window. A user may thus survey portions of a representation viewable in the display window, so as to select features of interest, which may be seen in greater detail by zooming in or out on such features as desired. Certain applications incorporate both this selectable viewing and scrolling feature with scaling of horizontal and vertical dimensions.
Certain types of representation are difficult to view in conventional windowing and scaling programs. For example, where the subject matter of depiction has discrete units or sections which are logically displayed in groups, scaling alone does not maintain a desired level of detail visible when the window size is reduced on a monitor. Where the detail is desired, zooming may be available, but conventional zooming algorithms increase an entire area of a representation, without distinction between logical boundaries between items in the depiction or their grouping.
By way of example, in an industrial automation context, systems of components may be associated with one another in a physical layout. The system view may be reconstructed to approximately represent the layout of the components. Where the components are situated in enclosures, then, the approximate positions of components in the enclosures may be depicted in the representation viewable by the user on a monitor. The user may then desire to maintain a view of suitable size to read indicia or text labeling on the components, but may not want the entire monitor screen to be occupied by the system view, making scaling of the entire image alone unsuitable. However, where zooming functions are utilized, specific component sections may no longer be viewable in the reconstructed representation, making partial sections alone viewable which are not useful to the user.
Similar issues arise in representations of other types of systems. For example, architectural representations may include distinct subunits, such as sections or floors of a building which are most usefully viewed as subunits. Where scaling alone is used, detail of the specific features may be lost, while zooming alone does not take into account the discrete groups of components which may comprise a building sections or floor. Diagrammatical representations, including charts, system diagrams, and the like may also include logical groupings which would be best viewed together, despite a level of scaling or zooming which is selected by a user.
There is, at present, a need for an improved windowing and scaling technique which can permit such viewing of logical groupings, while allowing for scaling of an overall system or representation.
The present invention provides a novel technique for sizing and scaling a representation on a computer monitor designed to respond to these needs and drawbacks of existing approaches. The technique is particularly well suited to use in software which allows for viewing of physical system layouts, diagrams, and the like, wherein components or features are associated into groups. A user may desire viewing of one or more of the groups as discrete units to maintain visibility of specific details. The groups are then defined for presentation in the representations, and the group associations are maintained in the depiction displayed within a viewing window.
The technique conveniently allows for scaling in one direction and snap-type feature selection in a second orthogonal direction. For example, in a physical depiction of a system, a vertical direction may be autoscaled by dragging a virtual tool on the display, such as via a mouse. The scaling in the vertical direction then proportionately changes the size of the elements depicted in the representation. Resizing in the horizontal direction then allows for selection of discrete subsections or units of the physical system depicted in the image. The sections may include machine elements, system components, or any other logical association of the elements of the representation. Thus, when the representation is resized in the horizontal direction, no loss of feature detail is experienced by the user, although the number of logical groups displayed or expanded is reduced. Additional windowing may be offered, such as through scroll bars, allowing the user to view other logical groupings eliminated from view by the resizing selection.
The technique may, of course, be adapted for various types of systems, and for scaling or sizing in vertical, horizontal, or other directions. In an exemplary implementation, horizontal and vertical directions are utilized, with an exemplary depiction being of a motor control center in an industrial automation setting. However, the inventive technique is applicable in a range of fields, where user viewable depictions or representations include logical groupings of features that for which details could be lost or less useful or viewable by the user if scaling and zooming alone are employed.